Noto University
Noto University is the university that has the highest turn out of balanced and diverse summoners. Due to its curriculum in general, many students end up becoming well-rounded without even realizing it. Part of the reason for this is due to the dean of Noto, Yoru Hikaru. The "Monster Dean" continues to try and spread the boundaries of nearly every field, even those non-Hyoru related, through the students. The school is also very special as it holds two SS ranked summoners out of the seven named and known. One is, of course, the dean. The other is known as the strongest teacher, Meru Atemi. The school's current rankings, as according to the annual Lunari rankings, in the following categories are: *Campus: 2nd Place *Overall Curriculum: 1st Place *Academic Curriculum: 2nd Place *Magic Curriculum: 2nd Place *Athletics Curriculum: 3rd Place *Hyoru Curriculum: 3rd Place *Hyoru Treatment: 2nd Place *Extra Curricular Activities: 3rd Place *Yearly Turn-Out of working summoners: 3rd Place History Founding Noto University was founded at about the same time as all the other universities and the new kingdom capital, Lunari City. The Royal Family felt that they should treasure the few summoners they have left but not without supervision Therefore, controlling their growth was, in their opinion, best done in school. Thus came the generation of summoners from the four universities. The one to supervise the universities would be, as everyone thought, deans appointed by the royal family. However, it was the Queen, not the King, much to everyone's surprise, who was the one to appoint the four deans. The first dean of Noto, which the history textbooks have simply named as "Navus," was known to have a personality very similar to the current dean of Noto. Due to this, Noto University of back then was very much like Noto University of today but with one major difference: Navus was significantly weaker than the other deans of the also recently established schools. He was the only one ranked S in the newly established ranking system for summoners whereas the others, significantly stronger than any summoner ranked at S, established the ranking SS. As such, he held much less influence than the other deans and was sometimes even threatened by summoners from other universities. While threats came from other universities, there was a lot of unrest from the public. The masses had just begun to recover at this time from the War of the El and all the normal people blamed the summoners for their suffering. Navus had a hard time keeping the students safe physically, mentally, and emotionally from the city's citizens and personal attacks from students from other universities. It did not help that Noto University was closest to the major battlefields during the War of the El. As such, many citizens who still remembered the hell they had gone through staged riots and some even tried their best to destroy the school buildings. Some students and faculty members were severely injured and even a few were killed within the first decade of Noto's founding. The following years were brutal to Navus as he had no one to turn to. His own wife caved to the threats of the public and began to ostracize him for being a summoner while his children refused to see him as their father. On the other hand, the students and faculty members of Noto University were blaming him for everything. The pressures of society continued to press down on him while the threats and ridiculous rivalries from the other schools continued. All this caused him to go crazy and at some point, he was infected and corrupted by dark magic. Full details were unknown as the history textbooks say very little about what happened. All that was known between this time and the next era was the event known as "The Rampage." Supposedly, all three deans banded together to fight Navus who had been corrupted by darkness to an immense degree, being able to match and temporarilly overpower the other three deans. In the end, however, the deans stopped him somewhere in Sa-iki and were proclaimed heroes while Noto University was closed for the next few years. The Time of Peace... and Pieces When Noto University was re-opened, a new dean was selected, again, by the Queen. The new dean was a strict and harsh man with a very narrow-minded view. As such, the school was drastically different from when it was under Navus. However, the city, which at this time had become a bit more open-minded due to the performance of the other deans against Navus, soon came to fully support the new dean. The students and faculty members also supported him and did not mind his policies much due to the horror that they had during The Rampage. A few decades went by. Everything was in order, to the eyes of the dean. The other universities had also calmed down with their rivalries. The citizens of the city and the members of the university were all well behaved. No one thought anything was out of place except for one small, young girl: the granddaughter of Navus who was named Ako. Much more mature than she should be for a girl eight years of age, she noticed that everyone around in Noto was living with a sort of darkness over their head. Ako had heard tales of her grandfather and "The Rampage" but she felt as though those were not the reasons for everyone's hidden bitterness. Rather, she felt everyone was afraid; afraid of the dean. Some years went by and the hidden darkness in Noto continued to grow. Everyone's hearts grew heavy and their fear began to show. The dean, in response to this, became harsher and colder. The other universities began to stay away from Noto. Ako, who had become a powerful A ranked summoner at the age of nineteen, was trying her best to support and comfort her friends and family to no avail. She was worried by the state of affairs happening in Noto University and Noto City, to which both its citizens and the rest of the world seemed to ignore. One day, she was approached by a hooded man with a phantom-like Hyoru by his side. Alarmed, she summoned her own Hyoru only to be assured that the hooded man had no intentions of harming her. Instead, he presented Ako an opportunity to temporarilly save Noto. Nearly everything shortly after was lost in history, leaving only the victory Ako had over the dean in a savage fight. Afterwords, the Queen approved of Ako's desire to become the new dean. She worked hard to recover both Noto University and Noto City for the following decades. An Era of Small Progress During Ako's years as the dean, Noto was truly in the state of peace. It was also beginning to progress and soon caught up to the other universities. Shortly after she died, the newest dean to take her place continued her work. And so did the eight following deans. And throughout those centuries, Noto continued small progress. It also created and hosted the first ever El Festival. Many famous summoners came from Noto and most students that graduated were ready to help the world in more ways than one. Noto also came to very friendly terms with both Sa-iki University and Eyan University. However, the relationship between Noto University and Woru University began to grow bitter. Supposedly, their hated relationship never went out of hand and soon calmed down when the dean right before Yoru's era came into position. The Years Before Yoru The dean right before Yoru was a calm and collected man. He was very open-minded and tried his best to satisfy both the students of the university and the citizens of the city, causing him to be well respected and for Noto University to further prosper more than it had ever been. However, there was a group of people who sought to get rid of the dean, with the leader calling himself the rightful descendant of Navus. The group tried to take aggressive action but the dean did not retaliate in the way they had hoped. Rather, the dean just made sure that no innocent was harmed while taking all of the blame for the attack. After realizing the massive support the dean had in the city's citizens and the university's students and staff, the group faltered and went into hiding. Within the following years, the dean continued to support Noto as he hired more and more teachers from various fields, even those that don't relate to Hyoru. He further took the words and actions of Ako and implemented them in ways people never even thought of. As such, he completed the stereotype of the school, the idea of the "Jack of All Trades." Campus In technicality, the size of Noto University roughly spans 118 square kilometers which is roughly between a fourth and a fifth the size of Noto City. However, just like the rest of the universities, most of the campus is either open plains, hills, or forests. Though, in Noto's case, there is only one forest: The Eteri Forest. Only about 10 kilometers in area actually has the school buildings while the rest of the open land is used for classes and training for summoners. Main Building The main building is a tall, cylinder shaped building that has a 185 floors. There are plenty of windows, each floor seeming to have roughly a different design and half columns were built into the outside walls just to give a unique sense of architecture. The base floor and every floor after that is about three kilometers in diameter while each floor is generally around 30 feet high with a few exceptions. There are many floors in the main building not because there are that many classes to fill it all up but because most classes require a large amount of space while other floors are training areas. Every tenth floor of the main building is actually a break area, barring the 20th floor and the 80th floor, that many students go to hang out during breaks. The main cafeteria is found on the second floor of the main building. What keeps the tower stable are large magic stones all levitating around the main building, each at several different heights that keep the tower from falling over while also strengthening the building itself. Apparently, not even an S ranked summoner can push the building down as the magic stones are powered by powerful magics that were put in place by the third dean of Noto, Ako. There is, however, a monthly inspection of the magic stones to insure that it was properly resonating and that there was enough magic around to power the magic stones. Dorms The dorms are about two kilometers west away from the main building. The stone paths leading to the dorms are surrounded by relatively small buildings that are generally used for clubs and other extra-curricular activities. Once at the dorms, one can clearly see that a set of buildings is separated from the others. The one on the northern side are the male dorms while the ones on the southern side are female dorms. There is a building in the center of the both of them that serves as the clubhouse as well as where the dorm supervisors remain. There are strict rules about any person being caught on the wrong side after a curfew time of 8 P.M. Both the male dorms and female dorms are separated into five parts that correspond to the first five letters of the alphabet: A, B, C, D, and E. On top of that, each part is then divided into sections based off of age. This layout of the dorms is actually shared throughout the rest of the universities and is perhaps the only thing the same among all four universities. The dorms were designed to hold up to roughly 75,000 students. However, with the trend of the Summoner population growth, Yoru plans on expanding the dorms within the next decade. The Grand Fountain The Grand Fountain was created during the time of the fourth dean. Several unique magic stones were used in its creation and the main ones lie in the center of the fountain. All day and all night, the magic stones in the center absorb water and shoot it out at ridiculous heights. It creates an amazing few and is often considered perfect for the center of a major event. It is also sometimes used in experiments and training of some sorts. However, one must have permission first before trying anything. The Grand Fountain has also been the target of many legends and rumors. Eteri Forest The Eteri Forest is a gigantic forest that is roughly 75 square kilometers in area. There are many harmless magical creatures and plants that inhabit it. The forest is heavily protected by both the city and the university but is often used as an area for testing, studies, and experimentation. In particular, many students trying to become alchemists or licensed members from the Alchemist Guild often go there. However, there are certain areas that can only be visited if approved first by the dean, the student council, and, sometimes, even the city council. One such location is the center of the forest, wherein lies a giant tree though it pales in comparison to Eyan University's "World Tree." Student Body The vast majority of the student body are kind and open-minded individuals. Coming mainly from the middle class, Noto students have a lot of experience and can do many things that the lower class can't do but are not obnoxious from power like the upper class. Many of them are also very friendly to Hyoru, adding a positive reputation to Noto. Yoru's generation of students are the least influenced by any of the past events that have haunted Noto. If anything, they're a bit detached from the past and have no idea about the hardships that older generations have gone through. It doesn't help that most students belong in the group age of 13-19 or 20-29. About the remaining 10% of the students are all at the age of 30 or older. To the standards of the kingdom established by the deans and royal council, about 30% of the students of Noto function on an honors level, 60% function at an average level, and the last 10% function below average. It is noted that this ranking is based off of a combination of both summoning rank and general academics in school. It is entirely possible, however, to be at an honors level but be completely lacking either one but obviously not both. Currently, 71,891 students are enrolled in Noto. The Student Council Noto's student council is one that actually holds a large amount of power in the students and is even capable of negotiating with teachers. It is also unique in that it has six members: president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, general affairs manager, and keeper. While the first five are all common in the other universities, the keeper is the only position that exists in Noto. Under the six main members are several officers that can be added or removed by the main members. However, the current generation of Noto's student council has not appointed any officer since they've been put into position. Of course, no one is actually complaining as they have always been reported that they do their job just fine. *President- Eric DeGul: The current president of the student council. He holds the summoning rank A. His responsbilities involve keeping the other five main members in order as well as appearing as the main representative of the student council. Also, most decisions must be approved by him and is one of the people responsible for anything that may happen from said decisions. *Vice President- Mina Rukoto: The current vice president of the student council. She holds the summoning rank B. Her responsbilities involve filling in for the president whenever he is unavailable. She is also responsible for many of the activities that the student council is to hold and is the main one to both create and handle these events. And then, she is also responsible for making sure that the student council runs smoothly. However, since there are no officers, she really doesn't have to do much. *Secretary- Umi Shikami: The current secretary of the student council. She holds the summoning rank A. In so many words, she is the negotiator. She is responsible for all negotiating tasks, from students to teachers to even the other universities. She is also responsible for the safety and well-being of the student council. *Treasurer- Tatsumi Lee: The current treasurer of the student council. He holds the summoning rank A. He is in charge of all funds related to the students. This includes any major transactions that one would think would usually fall under the responsbilities of the staff members. As such, he has major power over the vast majority of the funds in the school. However, his decisions are the ones mostly interrupted by the power of the president. *General Affairs Manager- Joshua Shin: The current general affars manager of the student council. He holds the summoning rank B. He's responsbile for just about everything that everyone else on the team isn't. He's also, simply put, the butler of the student council though he is treated fairly equally by the rest. Luckily. *Keeper- Kokoro Miyanami: The current keeper of the student council. She holds the summoning rank A. Her position is unique in the sense that this position only exists in Noto. Unlike in other schools, the job of acting as a judge and a law enforcer actually fall under her. This is unlike the other universities where the job of the judge falls under the president and the law enforcer falls under the general affairs manager. Supposedly, there is another job that falls under being the Keeper but no one but those of the student council actually know what it is. Teachers and Other Staff Members Teachers of Noto University are very well trained both in their craft and as a summoner, if their craft doesn't already pertain to only being a summoner. The general minimum for being a teacher at Noto University is to pass a test that pertains to what they want to teach (or show what they can teach if they are offering something in a completely new field) and to be minimally a rank B summoner. This is so they can maintain order among the students, who are generally around rank E-C with a few exceptions. Anyone applying that is found with a criminal record will be thoroughly checked on background as well as crimes committed. If accepted, the teacher will be put under surveillance for a minimum of half a year, longer if found necessary. Most other staff members of Noto Universities hardly need any qualifications. Most positions, such as a nurse or a janitor, do not even need summoners. However, they do need to have some sort of education meaning they must have at least a high school diploma. A few of the more important jobs, such as a main chef in the cafeteria or dorm suporvisors, require a minimum of three letters of recommendation with one having to come from a teacher at Noto. Also, all other staff members have the same policy when it comes to anyone with a criminal record. Classes Noto University has the largest number of classes in terms of diversity. It also offers the largest amount of classes that are not related to summoners or Hyoru. The school is relatively lenient on skipping classes. Simply put, a student must show up for testing dates assigned in class at the beginning of the year or semester. The rest of the days, a student may skip though it is not advised. Click here for more information and for a list on Noto classes. Clubs There are plenty of clubs in Noto University and a large population of the students are part of multiple clubs. The problem though is that a huge majority of clubs do not reach the productive standards of the Lunari Rankings. Hence why Noto is considered only third place in the Extra Curricular Activities rankings. This is not taking into consideration the lack of difficulty in creating a club in Noto. Establishing a Club *Have at least four students, irregardless of Summoner Rank or year *Have a teacher serve as a general advisor *Sign the proper documents *Create a club name *No cookies allowed in the club activities. *I repeat: No cookies allowed in the club activities. Top 5 Clubs The following list is based off of popularity and quality: #"The Summoners' Club" #*Member Count: 11,175 #*The most popular club in Noto. Generally, the club functions as a way for massive amounts of students to host tournaments and games and events similar to what students see in the El Festival that occurs every four years. One can say that those in Noto who are serious in doing well in the El Festival take the activities of this club very seriously. #"Comedians, am I right?" #*Nenber Count: 8,793 #*A club for comedians. Generally wondered how in the world this club became so popular but many members have a blast. They also serve as entertainment in many places, which is regarded as "productive" in the Lunari Rankings so they do also help out the school's reputation. Truly though, one has to wonder why a club focused on comedy is ranked second by the school. #"Noto's Alchemist Organization" #*Member Count: 5,986 #*A club dedicated for alchemy. Uses the connection that Noto University has to the Alchemist Guild to further research and obtain materials. Holds a lot of competitions for alchemy crafted items. Also holds tutoring for those who are a part of the Alchemy classes. Has a rivalry with "Machines!" #"Take to the Skies!" #*Member Count: 4,433 #*A club for those who have a fascination with airships. Whether it be in the construction of airships or the love for flying, this club welcomes it all. This is the only club in Noto that has a tie to one of the lesser known guilds, the Aviation Guild. The top members of the club serve as pilots for the school owned airships, which are often used for transportation of students to other areas. The club also holds plenty of airshows, using a combination of their airships, magic projectiles, and their Hyoru. #"Machines!" #*Member Count: 5,616 #*A club dedicated for machines. This club uses the connection Noto University has to the Engineering Guild to experiment with more machines as well as learn from actual engineers. Lots of the club members tend to hold demonstrations to showcase newly crafted machines. Has a rivalry with "Noto's Alchemist Organization" List of Other Notable Clubs *"Fishing For Life" *"Astrology - Not Astronomy Club" *"Woodworking Club" *"Yoru Fanclub (no cookies)" *"Meru Fanclub" *"Swords, Swords, and more Swords!" *"Music Club" *"An Artist's Dream" *"Adventurer's Club!" *"Architects, Assemble!" *"Hiking and Scenery" *"Magic Research Club" *"Cooking" *"Combat Club" *"Friendship with Magic Races!" *"Math Club" *"Eteri Forest's Explorers" *"Crossdressing is Fun!" *"Yaoi Fanclub" *"Yuri Fanclub" School Legends and Rumors *Supposedly, there is a legend of another established student council within the shadows of the school. Apparently, they hold enough influence to match the dean's even though they're no where near as strong as her. Regardless, this is just a legend and most students dismiss this as impossible. Some of their supposed actions include canceling the El Festival during one year, firing a group of teachers who failed to comply with their demands, and the disappearance of several student delinquents who later come back as perfect honor students. *Many students this year have begun talking about the Grand Fountain and how it grants one wish if you throw any magic stone into it. Several students have come back from the fountain, saying they got their wish granted and some even showed some supposed proof. *Some students think there is a haunted building somewhere in the northern part of the campus. Apparently, it is linked to the haunted buildings of Sa-iki, Woru, and Eyan. *There is apparently a book that allows anyone, even non-summoners, to learn magic. However, this rumor is even shot down by the teachers who usually just let the students gossip amongst themselves. *---More to come as more students gossip. Maybe.--- Category:Information